Now what if tomorrow was different? Imagine that you are the sole winner of a ridiculously large lottery drawing. Your bank statement overflows with commas and working for money has become something that you now discuss with past tense. Think about that tomorrow.
Are the two drastically different? If so, why?
Their “money blinders” were removed, and a world of possibilities became apparent.
My Grandmother is an avid lottery player, and it’s not uncommon to hear her say things like “My hands are itchy I must be coming into money” or “If I won the lottery, Robert, I would give each of my grandkids something”. Without fail, someone else in the room would chime in with all of the things that they would do if they won the lottery, and of course, the conversation would make me start thinking about what I would do.
I don’t play the lottery. My opinion is that it’s a tax on people who are bad at math, but it is still nice to daydream about a life without the worries of money. As I was mentally compiling a wish list something hit me: Most of my list can be achieved without winning the lottery, and the others could already do a lot of the things that they wanted as well!
It felt like a free-thinking exercise, and as I was watching the people around me talk I couldn’t help but smile. Their “money blinders” were removed, and a world of possibilities became apparent. Some people smiled with excitement, while others fidgeted in their seat at the thought of how life would be. Credit cards…mortgages…car payments…things like these were no longer important. Instead, they were able to focus on living the life they want.
When tomorrow comes, no one in that room is going to place an offer on that palatial mansion in hills or head down to the Maserati dealership and pick up a brand new Quattroporte, but they certainly can start working towards achieving these goals. For me, I realized just how important it was to succeed in becoming an Internet Entrepreneur.
If I won the lottery, I wouldn’t escape to a remote beach for an extended holiday, but instead, I’d round up some very talented young developers and designers to start a firm that would make waves on the Internet by providing some really fun and useful tools. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds necessary to hire such people, so I decided to just ask them if they would be interested in partnering up. Much to my surprise, several people, upon hearing my ideas were quite eager to do just that.
Today, I’m living my dream. And while my bank account does not resemble that of a lottery winner, I’m at least doing what I always wanted to. I awake each morning and smile, knowing that I took a chance, and while it isn’t working out exactly as I had planned, I’m living it. That, to me, means everything.
So I ask each of you to sit back in your chair, and compile a mental list of things that you would do if money didn’t matter. Now start working on them. If you want to take an exotic trip, open a separate savings account and start saving today. If you want that new body in 2015, then go out and start by taking a walk. The point is to start!
While we can’t deny the fact that money is incredibly important, we can acknowledge that it is certainly not the most important. What would you do if money wasn’t a worry? Good luck, I’m pulling for you.
Live is short anyway. While you are going for the money, might as well enjoy life and what it can offer you. And please forget the get rich schemes guys!
@Chelovek: Thanks for the laugh!
I have to look myself in the mirror every morning and made a promise to myself a long time ago that I’d like the guy looking back at me. Entrepreneur ≠ Get Rich Quick or Illegal Activities. I’d strongly suggest approaching any entrepreneur endeavor with honor and integrity.
I couldn’t disagree more.
I mean seriously, if I were an entrepreneur, I’d be trying every get-rich-quick cheap trick there was on the internet and then some.
I’d even use spam to make money.
I tried your suggestion of sitting back in my chair and thinking of what I would do if money didn’t matter.
I thought: “how could I rig the lottery while I’m on vacation on an exotic trip not worrying about money”.
Good article. And very apt. Whilst money can be incredibly useful, it’s only useful for what it brings you, not for what it is intrinsically.
Interesting article because I had the reverse happen recently, a possible downturn in the money and it made me sit back and say, where am I going and now that I have time to spare – where do I want to be next week.
I can honestly say (and I think I’m rare in this) that even if I won the lottery tomorrow, more than half of what I do in a day I would still do. I love writing, I love reporting on TV. The money would just help me do it better!
Excellent points. Too many people concentrate on the money and not the rewards. Most people don’t want money for money’s sake – they want what that money can provide. So instead of aiming at the cash, aim at the rewards. You will often find that you don’t need the money to achieve the rewards like travel, free time, and great life experiences.